The question of affordable housing is one that bedevils almost every community in B.C. and across the country.

Last spring Sooke district council responded to years of presentations and anecdotal accounts related to housing affordability by forming an affordable housing committee but, said committee chair Coun. Ebony Logins, it didnB次元官网网址檛 take long to discover that no simple solutions were near.

B次元官网网址淲e had lots of people come to council with concerns, but we didnB次元官网网址檛 even have a strong sense of what affordable housing meant,B次元官网网址� Logins said.

B次元官网网址淭he generally accepted definition comes out of the [Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation] that says housing is affordable if it costs no more than 30 per cent of household income before taxes. I think we have to do better than that.B次元官网网址�

In fact, the recognition that the CHMC definition is sorely lacking is acknowledged on the provincial governmentB次元官网网址檚 website. It acknowledges B次元官网网址渉ousing affordability is often based on a combination of factors, and every situation is different.B次元官网网址�

The fundamental lack of an accepted definition of affordable housing led Logins committee to secure $35,000 at a recent council meeting to hire a consultant to study the housing situation in Sooke.

B次元官网网址淎 consultantB次元官网网址檚 report can help us to get the facts. Without those facts, weB次元官网网址檙e really just stumbling around without really understanding the issue,B次元官网网址� Logins said.

She refuses to form an opinion on whether affordable housing is an issue in the community until she has a study of housing needs in place. Council agrees B次元官网网址渢here is a lot of smoke out there, but are unsure of where the fire might be.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淲e have a lot of options to consider as well. Is the problem based on the availability of apartments, townhomes, single family dwellings? There are so many options, and itB次元官网网址檚 hard to say where the problems exist. Is there a need for more apartments, mobile home parks, tiny homes? We donB次元官网网址檛 know,B次元官网网址� Logins said.

B次元官网网址淲e (the committee) actually started falling into the trap of talking about specific types of housing but quickly realized that we didnB次元官网网址檛 have the information to even talk about these things.B次元官网网址�

The lack of clarity on the issue is not unique to Sooke, nor does it reflect a failure on the district council, Logins said.

B次元官网网址淭his is the same problem we see all over the country. I just think we can do better in Sooke,B次元官网网址� she said.

ItB次元官网网址檚 also a problem the B.C. government has acknowledged although it has failed to come up with any solutions.

In a recent move, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs began working with the Union of B.C. Municipalities to develop a three-year funding program to support local governments to meet the new provincial requirement to complete housing needs reports.

Those reports will be a prerequisite for municipalities that hope to access as yet unannounced funding programs to address the issue.

The province announced a $1.9-billion initiative in mid-November but promised even more funds soon.

The $5 million fund currently under discussion will provide support for municipalities to help them collect the data within their communities in the hopes that they and the provincial government can B次元官网网址渁ppropriately target its resources.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淎nother positive thing about doing this report for Sooke is that it gives us the opportunity to consider the findings when we develop our new official community plan,B次元官网网址� Logins said.

B次元官网网址淥ur staff is excited to create a plan to improve our bylaws that affect housing. That will help us to move forward based on facts.B次元官网网址�

Logins acknowledged there are issues related to poverty and homelessness that get conflated with the issue of affordable housing but that, again, without full information, it becomes difficult to address those issues or determine whether they have a place in the affordable housing debate.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 an assumption that weB次元官网网址檒l make housing affordable for everyone, and IB次元官网网址檓 not sure that thatB次元官网网址檚 even attainable. We may be talking about different, but related issues,B次元官网网址� Logins said.

B次元官网网址淔or now, letB次元官网网址檚 find out where the gaps are and what is needed and then we can start talking about how those needs can best be addressed.

mailto:tim.collins@sookenewsmirror.com
Like us on and follow us on